Bliss' response to landmark report on state of child health in the UK

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has today (26 January) launched its latest report, The State of Child Health, which brings together data for the first time on a list of 25 measures of the health of UK's babies, children and young people. Read Bliss' response.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has today (26 January) launched its latest report, The State of Child Health, which brings together data for the first time on a list of 25 measures of the health of UK’s babies, children and young people.

The report is a comprehensive insight into the state of child health and wellbeing in the UK. While the UK has made significant strides in improving the health of babies, children and young people in the UK, the RCPCH has found there is far more to be done.

The RCPCH has put together recommendations to help improve child health and wellbeing and to address the stark inequalities in child health that have widened in the UK in the last five years.

Caroline Lee-Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, comments "Bliss welcomes this comprehensive and sobering report from the RCPCH on the health of the UK’s babies, children and young people. Their findings highlight how being born premature or sick can have a significant impact on the health of a baby into childhood, and we welcome the report’s recommendations to improve outcomes for these babies.

"It’s particularly concerning to see the report’s analysis of the impact deprivation has on health outcomes. We know that babies born in poverty are 50% more likely to suffer stillbirth or neonatal death, and more than twice as likely to die in infancy as those from the most affluent families, and support the RCPCH’s call for urgent action in this area."